Fans of horror may not be familiar with the name BJ McDonnell but you sure know his work, he has been in the film business for the last decade as a grip and then acclaimed camera and steadicam operator on such films as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Devil’s Rejects, Hatchet 1 and 2, Rob Zombie’s Halloween 1 and 2, The Collector, A Nightmare On Elm Street remake, Battle Los Angeles, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Lords of Salem, The Walking Dead, The Collection, Star Trek Into Darkness, and over 100 other feature films and television shows.
Now he’s making his mark in the genre by directing his first feature film, the highly anticipated Hatchet III. BJ’s story is truly inspiring as he has done what many a film geek only dream about; he followed his dreams to Hollywood from Florida and made a name for himself. He got his foot in the door, paid his dues, continued to work and has had an amazing career as a camera operator/steadicam operator which has enabled him to pursue his true desire to direct. Hatchet III is only the beginning of BJ’s directing career as I have no doubt he will move on to many more directing projects in Hollywood for years to come.
I recently had the incredible opportunity to talk with BJ McDonnell about what got him into the film business, the ins and outs of being a camera operator in Hollywood, Hatchet III’s body count, what fans should expect out of Hatchet III, and more, so read on for a truly informative and inspiring interview with BJ McDonnell!
Horror Society: You’re feature film directorial debut is on the upcoming Hatchet III. How did you get the opportunity to helm Hatchet III?
BJ McDonnell: Hatchet III, I got that because I met Adam (Green) on Hatchet 1. They were looking for a camera man and as a camera operator/steadicam guy I went in for the interview and because as the one camera operator who loved horror films, they hired me. I ended up shooting with the DP, Will Barratt shooting all the stuff, all the steadicam all the camera operating.
Everything you see on the first two films I shot. I ended up becoming part of their crew for 1 and 2 as just the camera operator. I actually got killed in 2 during a flashback sequence (laughing). Adam called me up when I was working on another movie in Cape Cod and said he didn’t want to direct the third film. I asked him who he was thinking about directing the film and he said there were a couple names going around, but he thought it would be better if someone in the family directed it. He knew that I wanted to be a director because I was starting to pursue directing on other projects. He said he was throwing my name into the mix for director because he knew I wanted to get going. That’s how it went down, that was it.
HS: That’s awesome!
BJ: Yeah, it was a really, really great opportunity, it’s a great stepping stone for me and my directing career which I was
very thankful for. It was a great learning experience.
HS: You mentioned that you were a horror fan. Were you a horror fan since before you started in the film business?
BJ: I’ve been a horror fan since I was a little kid. A kid of the 80’s growing up, watching all these movies come out. When my parents would take off and go to visit their friends and leave me at home with my sister or whoever was watching us, we’d end up watching HBO and show us all these horror films. Just growing up with that complete love of all of it, being that young and watching these films, they always were so entertaining and so amazing to me. I’m a huge fan of horror films. Even shooting them now, it’s been pretty wild being involved with them. Working on them as a cameraman and also directing them, I love them and have always been into them still to this day.
HS: Wow, that’s great! You started out in the business as a grip and then you moved on to camera operator and now you’re directing. What got you into the film business to begin with?
BJ: My Grandfather was really what got me into it. He’s an actor from back in the day, his name was Leif Erickson. He did stuff like On the Waterfront; he had a TV show called The High Chaparral, he was the main guy in that. When I was growing up, he used to take me to a bunch of film sets or where he’d worked before like Tucson where they shot The High Chaparral. I was always amazed by the movie making process, so he was a huge starting influence on me for getting into the film business.
My buddies and I growing up would make home movies that were horror films with our friends being stupid, and I got completely addicted to doing that kind of stuff. I realized that people make money doing this, they get into this business and make a living making movies, and it’s kind of awesome. I couldn’t imagine what else I would do work wise. I came out to Los Angeles, my buddy was a grip, I started off that way and then I felt like I didn’t have my touch on movies as a grip. As a grip you’re helping set flags and shape the light and push the dolly, build rigs and things like that, but you never really see your work come to life on-screen. I wanted to see if I could help tell stories through being a part of camera operating and actually making the shots. I moved into that and as luck had it I got a chance as an operator and then started to shoot movie after movie and got lucky with the people I’d met.
HS: You’re fortunate to be able to do something for a career that you truly love because most people don’t get that opportunity.
BJ: Yes, exactly. I didn’t know moving out to Los Angeles from Florida, if I was actually going to even get anywhere near a film set, but at least I wanted to try it. Luckily, it took off and I’m thankful to this day and every morning I wake up that I have this lucky deal I got into.
HS: I am very familiar with your Grandfather; do you think that if your Grandfather was not in the business that you’d still be doing what you’re doing now?
BJ: That’s a weird question, I don’t know. Going with him on vacations when I was little was always really cool, he would take us to these places where he worked and I was always amazed by it. Being around the people he knew in Hollywood and stuff, I’d meet these people and not even know who I was meeting like Robert Bloch, the guy who wrote Psycho. I didn’t know who that was but as a kid you don’t even know that stuff. That’s a great question, I’ve never even thought about that, but I believe it was a lot of his influence.
HS: Adam (Green) is one of the new breed of young filmmakers working today, would you consider Adam to be a mentor of yours?
BJ: I don’t really consider Adam as a mentor. My mentors are people like Caleb Deschanel who is a DP I work with a lot or Brandon Trost, a lot of camera people are definitely more mentors to me. Phil Parmet the guy who really gave me my break with the Rob Zombie movies, and Rob Zombie. In all honesty, watching the way Rob works, knowing him and working with him was amazing because he’s one of those directors that can think outside of the box and not so much as in we’ve got this, this, this, move on, he’s honestly a true artist when it comes to what he’s trying to accomplish. Rob just has a really good eye for certain interesting things, from that, I really took a lot from him and learned a lot from Rob, he’s fantastic. The cameramen have taught me so much through telling stories through cameras and how to accomplish great shots, why the camera moves when you’re telling a story. They’re more of my influence than anybody.
HS: What’s the most challenging part for you about being a camera operator or steadicam operator?
BJ: The most challenging part of that is the physical challenge of carrying around the weight of a camera that’s so heavy. Steadicams get very, very heavy and a lot of people think it’s the digital age and the cameras are getting lighter which isn’t true, the cameras still weigh about the same and you’re running in the rig and it physically beats you up, that’s tough. There’s also the part where you have to try to make sure you’re getting what the director wants to get and also what the Director of Photography wants to get and sometimes they just don’t mix. There’s clashing involved with the two of them so you become the crème between the two cookies is what I like to say, you’re trying to make sure both are pleased. There are a lot of political games you have to play as a camera operator trying to make everything work out that way. Not only physical but you also have the mental stress of dealing with the people involved because it’s a people and political game.
HS: Where does your biggest passion lay, with being a camera operator or now that you’ve directed and had a taste of that, do you think that might be your new passion?
BJ: I definitely want to move into directing. My passion and the reason why I moved to L.A. is to direct. When Adam met me, he knew I wanted to direct, it’s one of those things where you get caught up in what you’re doing at the time and it’s hard to break away from it, especially if that’s your bread and butter. Camera operating has taken off for me in a crazy way with just working on great movies with the people that I’ve got to meet and it’s been amazing. It’s tough to break away from that when you’re making such good money at it. When you start directing things, people seem to think you’re making all this money and stuff, on horror films and things like that it’s not the case. The money that’s in the budget for a movie like that goes for things like explosions, makeup, the camera rentals, the rentals of things like a boat that you need in a shot, things like that and the director is not making anything. Over time when you start making movies with bigger budgets and get your name out there, then you start making more money at it, but honestly, it’s more of a passion thing than anything. It’s just getting the movie done; I want to get my name out there and be happy with what I’ve got and hopefully move on to the next one. I love them both equally, but at this point and time in my career, I really want to move into directing, right now, I’m still operating and I love doing that too.
HS: You’re going to continue to be a camera operator as well?
BJ: Well, if the directing thing takes off then I’m going directing. But as of right now, I’m doing both. I’m on a movie right now as camera operator but I’m also pursuing with a couple of buddies, writing projects and trying to get things lined up for the next directing gig and taking meetings and things like that because I do want to direct another feature here very soon.
HS: What was the toughest part about being a first time director?
BJ: It was probably trying to make things work with what we had at the time and not having enough time for prep. There’s a certain schedule you have to follow when you’re doing things and when you don’t have a big budget, and don’t have the time to do things, you have to make it work when it’s time for someone else’s schedule. The pre-production was very tough when I was down in New Orleans. I was down there for a good month and a half before anyone else came down; I was storyboarding the movie in a hotel room, trying to walk down locations. It was me and my girlfriend, she helped me out a lot, we would go around and find locations and then call the producers and tell them what’s going on, try to lock down certain stuff. My girlfriend helped me out a ton on the movie, just trying things when she came down there. The pre-pro and the post-pro was really hard, the production part of it was not very tough for me because I’m used to working around actors and I’m used to being on a set, that actually felt like home for me and I wasn’t worried or stressed out at all, that felt natural. It was just the rest of it all that was tougher. I learned so much more from getting this first one done what to do and what not to do from here on out, it was a great learning experience.
HS: Do you think that will give the film a better look with real locations instead of recycled sound stage shots?
BJ: I think so, and that was a big thing for me. The first one we shot out in the desert out at Sable Ranch and tried to set up some swampy looking bushes around a pond that was there and then the second one we did on a sound stage which you can actually tell because everything is so confined and it starts to get to the point where you can’t’ open up anything, you’re stuck only being able to shoot certain things at a certain width and you can’t go wide on certain things. My whole thing was let’s go down to New Orleans and shoot in the swamp. If you really shoot in a real swamp, it definitely shows onscreen, you can tell the difference, and you really can. Panavision gave us a really good deal because I wanted to shoot with Panavision lenses because we never had before. We shot the first Hatchet 35mm but I forgot what lenses we used, but I wanted to use Panavision’s glass because I think they’re the best. We got the Mark II lenses that James Cameron would use on Terminator 2 and things like that which I thought would be really cool to put that vibe into the movie. When you’re shooting digital, these lenses actually soften up the digital look a little bit and make it look more like film, we shot with Red Ones. Using the Panavision glass softened up the digital look and actually made it look amazing. I went 2:40 aspect ratio on this one to make it look more like a movie instead of 1:85 like the other two were. I think the look of the film is definitely way better in this one.
HS: Do you prefer filming in the anamorphic widescreen process?
BJ: Yes, it’s more cinematic and I’ve always liked the way that looks, it’s beautiful. I’m very, very happy with the way Hatchet III looks. It was a tough shoot with 16 days of shooting nights in the swamp. We were shooting during the Summer so we only had 8 hours of darkness, which usually on a regular film set, you have 12 hours, so we didn’t even get our full days in because we shot at the worst time ever which we only had 8 hours of darkness. Then we came to Los Angeles and shot for about 3 1/2 days. It was a challenge because there’s so much going on and so little time to get it done. Shooting in the real swamp with rain, and mud, the crew down there really pulled it together. There were alligators walking up to craft services in mud, lightning would shut us down, it was a real challenge.
HS: Those are some cool set stories. I’m really looking forward to seeing it. Were you worried about having to live up to the legacy of the first two Hatchet films? We horror fans can be pretty fickle when someone else takes over a franchise.
BJ: I wasn’t worried about it at all honestly. My whole intention was if I’m going to go in and do something that someone else has already created, I don’t want to go in and change up tons of stuff, and I still tried to keep it a Hatchet movie. It still has the 80’s fun vibe to it, it’s not all serious, and it’s a fun movie. I wanted to keep that vibe, but also put in a bit of my look to it and make it look a bit more cinematic than the other ones had been. I think the fans are going to be completely happy with what we actually pulled off. I’m happy with what I got to do on it, I like the look of the film and it still holds true to the Hatchet movies, crazy kills and a good time.
HS: What do you think you brought to the film that is uniquely you?
BJ: I think I brought more of a cinematic look to the movie. I put a little more suspense in than the other films had. I think the look is completely the look that I wanted. The second one looked very digital, we shot so fast doing that one, and it was a really quick shoot. I tried to make it look more cinematic, I added a few more dolly shots, I added more grain to the film to where it looks like a 16mm film, which was cool and made it look a little bit dirtier than the other ones.
HS: A lot of people would want me to ask, how is the body count in Hatchet III as opposed to the previous films?
BJ: There’s way more deaths in this one! There’s a lot more of a body count, when we were doing the commentary we were doing a countdown of the body count, I can’t really say the number yet, but I know we definitely went over what we’ve done in the other movies, there is definitely more deaths.
HS: I know a lot of fans will be glad to hear that.
BJ: Exactly, we tried to do that. We always try to outdo the last one.
HS: About the cast, Kane (Hodder) is back again as Victor Crowley, but you also have Derek Mears as well, they’re both actors who’ve played Jason Voorhees in previous Friday the 13th films, are we going to see a showdown between two former Jason’s?
BJ: You better believe it man! That was the whole point of actually doing that, we knew that it would be one thing where the fans would want to see Jason vs. Jason, so what better than to get Derek on there. We were supposed to have Derek on the second film, but there was some availability issue. Adam knew Derek and I knew Derek because I worked with him on MacGruber and we became friends off of that, we would run into each other on different movie things and we got to be friends. I remember seeing Derek at the Chillerama premiere and I couldn’t tell him what I was doing, it was still secret that I was doing Hatchet III, but I knew I was doing it. I told Derek that I had something I wanted to talk to him about, I’ve got something and I want you to do and you have to do it. He was great about it, he told me he would do whatever I want, I’ll be there for you, whatever you want, and I’ll do it. He’s a real nice, genuine guy, completely genuine guy, I love him.
HS: Will Victor Crowley live on past Hatchet III?
BJ: I don’t know, the thing is with all these movies, sometimes they try to make it the last one or this is the end. They always tend to find a way to bring somebody back to life. All in all, I don’t know if there will be a Hatchet IV, I have no idea. It could definitely happen, but it’s all up to the fans and the support it gets.
HS: Would you come back for another one if they asked you?
BJ: No, I don’t think I would. I’m ready to do my own thing now. I’m happy with the experience I got and everything and am very thankful with what I got to do with it but I don’t want to just go on with a career of doing someone else’s movie, I want to break off and do my own thing.
HS: Do you prefer the look of digital movies as compared to films shot on 35mm?
BJ: I prefer film. I prefer the look of film, digital is great for doing things, but when it really all boils down to it, you don’t really know what you have on film until you get your dailies back and the film back. I knew because we had such a short shooting schedule, I need to know that I had everything. That was the major decision to going to digital for Hatchet III. I needed to play things back if I needed to see if I could move on to the next scene or not. With film you can’t do that, but film to this day is superior. It looks better, you get so much more texture out of it, it’s awesome.
HS: What’s coming up for you, what projects are you working on next?
BJ: Right now, I’m in the middle of writing a couple of things for me to direct, things I don’t want to talk too much about because we’re only in the writing phase now. I’m working on a movie called Townies now with Seth Rogen and Zac Efron as a camera operator. My weekends are writing and my weekdays are shooting, it’s just busy, busy, busy.
HS: Are we going to see more horror related projects from you in the future?
BJ: I’m going to try to keep myself more into the horror and action stuff. I really want to go to an action film next if I can, and I’m not saying it’s not a horror/action film. That’s the kind of things I grew up with and love and what I want to dive into more. That’s what I’m gearing for.
HS: Awesome, I’m looking forward to that stuff. In closing, what can fans expect out of Hatchet III when it’s released on June 14th?
BJ: Fans can still expect the same feel of a Hatchet movie, it’s still a fun movie, it’s still a great time with an 80’s throwback feel and I think people can expect a bit bigger of a spectacle, a different look to the whole thing. If you love the first and second Hatchet, you’re going to really, really like Hatchet III. Victor Crowley is mean in this one.
HS: I just wanted to thank you so much for talking with me and the readers of Horror Society. I wish you nothing but the best of luck for the future and I hope to see a lot more from you.
BJ: Thanks so much man, call me anytime!
“Like” the Official Hatchet III Facebook page, and follow BJ McDonnell on Twitter!
Watch the bloody red band trailer for Hatchet III here,
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